At the dawn of the 21st century, the death penalty is considered by most civilized nations as a cruel and inhuman
punishment. It has been abolished de jure or de facto by 106 nations, 30 countries have abolished it since 1990. However,
the death penalty continues to be commonly applied in other nations. China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the United
States and Iran are the most prolific executioners in the world.

While international documents have restricted and in some cases even banned the death penalty, its application is still not
against customary international law. Much debate continues in the US as to whether it constitutes an appropriate punishment,
at least to the most heinous crimes. In recent years, the debate has been further fueled by the use of new technologies which
have shown that a large proportion of people sentenced to death are, indeed, innocent.